On this Thanksgiving Day, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for all the wonderful blessings I enjoy. I’m grateful to live in a free land where I can pursue my dream of being an author. I’m grateful for my great family, especially my wife and two wonderful kids.
I’m grateful for my opportunity to share my musical talents in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and other venues. I’m grateful for those who have helped and inspired my writing and others who have encouraged me along the way.
Basically, I’m just happy to be alive and to be me. What sort of things are you feeling grateful for today?
As we enter the Christmas season, I hope to keep the focus on gratitude and giving, rather than focusing on what I may be receiving.
I’d like to announce my very first writing contest. I’d like to put together a Christmas anthology to be self published, and donate all of the proceeds to the National Down Syndrome Society. I selected this charity because my second son has Down’s Syndrome, and I believe in supporting this wonderful society that helps these wonderful people. Here he is:
Here are the details:
Concept: 12 short stories, each one based on a Christmas song. Thesong would also be the title. NOTE: I will only include one story based on eachsong. The best way I see around this is to email me and let me know what songyou will like and I will post the taken songs on my website.
Length: 1000 – 10,000 words
Content: No profanity, graphic violence, or eroticsituations. Should be ‘family friendly’.
Deadline: March 31st, 2012
To be published: December 2012
Send submissions to
thecanticlekingdom@gmail.com. Please include your full name, phone number, emailaddress and website (if applicable). Files should be written in 12 point font, doublespaced, with pages numbered and a running headed with the author’s name andtitle across the top.
By submitting your work, you grant me one-time publishingrights if selected. The anthology willonly go through if there are a sufficient number of entries received. Eachentry receive feedback from me, and some may be accepted pendingrevisions. Those selected will benotified no later than June 1st, 2012. Conditions subject to change.
All the proceeds will be donated to the National DownSyndrome Society.
Books by Michael D. Young 
I'm all over this! I'd love to be part of it!
What a great idea! Can't wait to see the final anthology. BTW, your boy is adorable!
I want to do this! I'm looking over Christmas song titles. I'm guessing that you're focusing on the hymn type of songs, such as "Angles We Have Heard on High" rather than "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."
It would probably be good to have a little of both. I am doing "Twas the Night Before Christmas", but I would like plenty of hymns.